Dredger-sleeve.



No 809,903. PATENTED JAN. 9, 1906.

.W. F. BOWERS.

' DREDGER SLEEVE.

APPLICATION FILED APILZB, 1905 9 5 7 a I 1 I H x x Z W/7/VE55E5:

UNITE STATES WILLIAM F. BOWVERS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

DREDGER-SLEEVE;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1906.

Application filed April 28, 1905. Serial No. 257.886.

To all whont it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. BowERs, a citizen of the United States,residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDredger- Sleeves, of which the following is a specification.

The term dredgensleeve is employed in the art of dredging to designate aflexible connection for joining two adjacent sections of thedischarge-pipe which conveys material from the dredger to any place ofdeposit. The dischargepipe is usually composed of a number of sectionsso connected together and supported upon floating pontoons arrangedbetween the dredger and the shore. The action of winds, currents, andtides which cause the pontoons to change their position relatively tothe dredger and to each other makes it necessary to employ such flexibleconnections which can bend and conform to the various angles assumed bythe rigid pipesections. IIeretofore these sleeves have been simplestraight tubes formed of rubber and duck or canvas and of uniformdiameter. To secure as high a degree of durability as possible, thesleeves are made very long, materials of good quality are generallyused, and such sleeves are therefore expensive. Their first cost wouldnot be a matter of serious objection if the desired durability could beobtained; but it has been found in practice that the strain in flexingand curving the straight rubber tubes soon causes them to tear andcrack, producing leaks in the discharge-pas sage and making frequent andexpensive re newals necessary. A further objection to the sleeveheretofore used is found in the fact that when they are flexed or curvedone part of the tube is bent inwardly toward the opposite wall, so as toform an obstruction in the passage, which always to some extent andsometimes completely interferes with the flow of material. Such anobstruction to the flow puts the coupling under a heavy internal strain,which is additional to the external strain caused by the flexing andcurving.

In the invention hereinafter described it has been my object to providea novel construction of dredger-sleeves which entirely obviates theabove objections, does away with any flexing strain, makes it impossiblefor the wall of'the sleeve to obstruct the passage, enables amuchshorter sleeve to be used, and provides a sleeve of much greaterdurability and which is more efficient and satisfactory in operationthan those heretofore used.

The accompanying drawings show enough of a discharge-pipe to fullyillustrate the construction and operation of my invention.

Figure l'is an elevation of parts of two adjacent sections of adischarge-pipe with my sleeve in position. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsection of the sleeve in straight position. Fig. 3 is a similar section,illustrating the position of the sleeve when curved to conform to anangular relation of the pipe-sections. Fig. 4 is a cross-section on lineat :1: of Fig. 1.

The discharge-pipe is composed of any suitable number of metallic hollowsections, two of which, 1 1., are shown in the drawings. These sectionsare of any desired or necessary length and diameter, according to thesituation in which they are used and the character and amount ofmaterial wvhich is to pass throughthem. The adjacent ends of thesesections are connected together by the sleeve 2, which surrounds saidends and the space between them and is secured to them in any suitableway. I have shown as practical securing means open-ring clamps 3, whichsurround the sleeve and are compressed upon it by means of bolts 4. Thesleeve is a tube of rubber molded to proper form and strengthened byplies 6 of textile material, such as duck or canvas, For the greaterportion of its extent it is a single straight flexible tube which fitsthe exterior of the pipe-sections. The peculiar feature of itsconstruction eonsists in forming it with an intermediate hollow bead orenlargement 7'of substantially frusto-spherical form. Such enlargementis an integral part of the tube, and the plies of textile material runcontinuously through it. This enlargement is not a thickening of thewall of the tube, but a lateral and preferably curved extension orprojection of such wall,

which is of uniform thickness with the cylindrical portions of thesleeve. In other words, the exterior and interior surfaces of the sleeveare parallel throughout their whole extent.

'When the sections of pipe are connected together, the enlargement 7surrounds the space left between the sections, as shown.

The operation and advantages of my improved dredgensleeve areillustrated in Fig. 2. When from any cause the adjacent sections of pipechange from a straight to an angular relation in any direetion,thesleeve conforms to the change without bringing any increase of strainupon it by stretching, for, as will be observed in Fig. 3, the excess ofmaterial on the side where the pipe-sections diverge in forming theangle simply goes into the length of the sleeve to the extent madenecessary by the size of the angle, and on the opposite side, instead ofan inwardly-projecting kink in the wall, which would obstruct thepassage, the outwardly-extending sides of the enlargement simplyapproach one another without in any way affecting the size of thepassage. Thus the flexing of the sleeve, which puts a portion of anordinary sleeve under a severe tensile strain, Will in this case haveonly the effect of flattening or partly fiattenin the excess of materialin a portion of the en argement. The same results follow all changes inthe relative positions of the pipe-sections, no matter in whatdirection. This provision for relieving the sleeve from strain allowscomparatively short sleeves to be used.

While this sleeve is especially adapted and intended for use as aconnection for the discharge-pipe sections of dredgers, it is evidentthat sleeves of substantially the same character and construction can beemployed in any and all cases Where a flexible connection for pipes issubject to be bent or curved by changes in the positions of the pipeswhich it connects or from other causes.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by w. F. BOWERS.

. Witnesses:

L. W. SEELY, CELESTE ANsELL.

